The last time A.J. Turner saw Tyler Lydon, the green-gowned roommates had just graduated from The New Hampton (New Hampshire) School. They sat in front of their dorm, Lewis Hall, looking at the cars stuffed full of family and moved-out dorm belongings.

That moment hit Turner, he said, more than taking the last basketball team photo or cheering loudly for Lydon when he got his diploma. In two years, the two junior transfers, Lydon from southeastern New York and Turner from just north of Detroit, had gone from strangers to roommates to teammates to rap battlers to brothers.

When they broke apart from a hug, neither could find words. Twenty seconds passed.  They each muttered about working hard and seeing each other soon.

Before another long silence overtook them, before they drove away in separate cars, Turner said something that made Lydon laugh.

“Hey,” Turner said. “I’m going to dunk on you when we play.”

Turner has a chance to make good on that promise when Boston College (7-8, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) travels to the Carrier Dome to play Lydon and Syracuse (10-7, 0-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. It’ll be the first time the former teammates will play against one another. They’ll have a chance to measure up skills acquired from years of pushing one another constantly in high school. Turner has been playing more power forward recently, he said, and he knows it’s the same position Lydon sometimes plays too.

“It’s going to be surreal,” Turner said. “If we get switched onto one another, I’ll have a little bit more hyper juice.”

While Lydon, SU’s sixth man, has played in all 17 games but started none, Turner has started 14 of 15 games, averaging 6.5 points per contest. He is fourth on the Eagles in rebounds and assists.

Where he and Lydon are today, Turner said, is because of one another. In high school, they woke each other up for coach Peter Hutchins’ “early bird” workouts at 6:15 a.m. Hutchins, who counts former BC guard Olivier Hanlan and Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh among his alumni, challenged players to use those workouts for improving unconventional aspects of their game.

For 6-foot-7 Turner and 6-foot-8 Lydon, that meant ball-handling, footwork and outside shooting. As seniors, Lydon and Turner played small forward and shooting guard, respectively, Hutchins said.

Hutchins kept track of who showed at Early Birds. By season’s end, Turner had the most, Lydon a close second, Hutchins said.

“A.J. evolved as a competitor because New Hampton was different in terms of dedication to basketball for him,” Hutchins said. “… Tyler has a motor. He really progressed as a ball-handler and passer. His confidence grew.”

Lydon and Turner went everywhere together: practices, meals, the gym and the New Hampton hang out spot, the “DP,” short for the Dog Pound. Their competitive natures took over as Lydon beat Turner at ping pong and pool. Turner got revenge when he, Lydon and teammate Daniel Levitt rap battled.

“We’d sit up in the dorms late every night freestyling,” Turner said, laughing. “He’s horrible. I’d win every time. Sometimes I think he was too afraid. When I’d leave, he’d rap. When I came back, he’d be quiet.”

They also went to the DP to watch sports, particularly college basketball and the NBA.

Turner liked watching James Harden. As Lydon and Turner played their five or six games of daily 1-on-1, Turner began emulating Harden. He’d slash to the basket, hesitate, then angle sideways into a step-back jumper. Turner frustrated his bigger, taller roommate until Lydon adopted the move himself.

“I’m like, ‘Yo, you can’t be stealing that,’” Turner said, laughing. “He got really mad when I did it.”

When the two meet up again, Turner expects the same trash talk, he said. He looks forward to seeing his friend in person instead of on FaceTime.

“Those two are really close, it’ll be fun,” Hutchins said. “As far as their rivalry goes in college, we’ll have to see how that plays out.”

Published on January 13, 2016 at 3:54 am

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR